Neil MacEachern

Council · Gibsons

Neighbourhood:: Harbour Area
Years in the community:: 7

About

I am a husband, father, coach, runner, creator, and striver. Have science degrees in Forestry, and Carbon management and have been a forester, environmental auditor, municipal environmental planner, program manager, and engineering PM.

Policy commitments

Buildings

We all want healthy, affordable, and comfortable homes. These policies will help to lower energy bills, cut pollution, and improve indoor air quality.

✓ Support electrification of new buildings. Supportive

~ Incentivize electric heat pumps and air filtration systems. Neutral

~ Incentivize renewable energy, battery storage, and smart-grid technologies in new and existing buildings to improve energy security. Neutral

✓ Scale up energy retrofits for existing homes, businesses, and public buildings. Supportive

✓ Implement a 'right to cool' bylaw to protect tenants during extreme heat events. Supportive

Climate Justice

Our community is already experiencing the harmful impacts of climate change caused by fossil fuel pollution, and taxpayers are on the hook to upgrade and repair critical infrastructure.

✓ Endorse the fossil fuel treaty and commit to phase out fossil fuels. Supportive

✓ Enact a moratorium on AI data centres to protect our energy and water resources. Supportive

✓ Pursue available legal options to recover a fair share of the climate costs facing our community from fossil fuel companies and other big polluters. Supportive

✓ Collaborate with Indigenous peoples as partners in the stewardship of the land, air, and water, and work towards reconciliation. Supportive

Ecosystems

The air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat all rely on healthy ecosystems. Nature can also help protect our community from extreme weather by controlling floods, protecting shorelines, and cooling neighbourhoods. Access to nature improves the health and well-being of residents, and supports biodiversity.

✓ Protect and restore ecosystems, which are essential to human survival, health, and economic well-being. Supportive

✓ Expand and protect tree canopy, parks, and green infrastructure to cool neighbourhoods, clean air, and manage stormwater. Supportive

✓ Prioritize native tree planting in all areas, especially those with low tree cover, higher population densities, and more vulnerable residents. Supportive

✓ Create connected urban greenways for people and wildlife. Supportive

Land Use

We envision vibrant, walkable communities that protect nature and improve food security.

✓ Build affordable homes near jobs, schools, shops, and transit. Supportive

✓ Upgrade critical infrastructure for heat, fire, flood, and storm resilience. Supportive

✓ Increase food security by supporting local agriculture and community gardens. Supportive

Transport

Connecting neighbourhoods through public transit and active transportation networks will cut pollution, improve public health, and make our communities more affordable (and fun!).

~ Deliver reliable, frequent, affordable local transit. Neutral

✓ Advocate to improve regional public transit between communities. Supportive

✓ Build bike and roll networks that are safe for everyone. Supportive

✓ Expand EV charging infrastructure. Supportive

Watersheds

Climate change, increasing populations, and overconsumption threaten our water security. Healthy watersheds and forests are critical to support clean drinking water, stormwater management, climate resilience, and biodiversity for future generations.

✓ Implement water conservation plans and educate the public to conserve drinking water. Supportive

✓ Protect and restore watersheds as vital municipal infrastructure. Supportive

✓ Develop and implement a water security plan. Supportive

Zero Waste

Zero waste policies reduce pollution, keep waste out of landfills, build resilient local economies, and safeguard public health by shifting society away from a disposable culture toward a sustainable circular economy.

✓ Implement zero waste bylaws to divert organic waste and recyclables from disposal. Supportive

✓ Support the development of a circular economy to eliminate waste and improve resilience. Supportive

✓ Implement bylaws to eliminate waste from new buildings, renovation, and demolition projects and to use existing buildings as efficiently as possible. Supportive

✓ Supportive

~ Neutral

× Opposed

– No response

Climate action

How have you contributed to climate action in your community through advocacy, past work, advisory committees, volunteer work, and/or reducing your personal carbon footprint?

My has been a trajectory toward increasing climate action. I have worked in forest carbon project development, written EV and tree protection bylaws for the City of PoCo, built programs for fleet electrification for BC Hydro and the Gov't of BC, oversaw low-carbon retrofits and EV charging installs on the board of a housing cooperative, and sat on the board of Hub to advocate for safe cycling infrastructure.

Questions for Gibsons

What actions will you take to advocate for Gibsons residents if Woodfibre LNG doubles or triples in size, resulting in an LNG carrier passing through Howe Sound every day?

First of all, LNG is simply a bad idea. Fugitive emissions from processing, and energetic demand for compression result in it being as carbon intensive as coal. This is before it gets shipped across the ocean using diesel. We should be working to get our systems off of fossil fuels, not more deeply entrenched in them. With respect to Woodfibre, and what is within the scope of local governments, I would advocate for the Provincial and federal governments to not issue permits for the expansion of Woodfibre, given the risk to the climate, risk to rare habitat and cetaceans, and potential conflicts with ferries.

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Authorized by Citizens for My Sea to Sky, registered sponsor under LECFA, info@myseatosky.org

Vote4Tomorrow is an independent voter guide to evaluate where local candidates stand on climate and environmental policies that will affect our future.

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